The federal government is, in practice, a one-party state controlled by an oligarchy, which is a relatively small group, composed of financiers, politicians and journalists.

Written by Lawrence Sellin

The oligarchy is roughly divided into two types of individuals: ideologues and pragmatists. Ideologues are adherents to uncompromising and dogmatic policies and are determined and unyielding in achieving their goals. Pragmatists have no solid core principles and will adjust their political positions for the purpose of remaining accepted members of the oligarchy. The ideologues always drive the political agenda, which is only moderated or delayed when met by sufficient resistance.

Think of Washington, D.C. as a television drama. The financiers are the producers, the politicians are the actors and the journalists are the promoters.

The financiers or producers analyze the marketplace, determine how they can benefit or achieve their objectives and then they identify government policies. In other words, they write the script.

The politicians are hired by the financiers to follow their script and execute the policies they have identified. In return the politicians (actors) gain celebrity status and enormous wealth from the financiers, but also by milking their fans (citizens) through marketing spin-offs (taxes).

The journalists (promoters) make their living by hyping the program (The Obama Show) for the producers (financiers) through TV spots (network news) and guest appearances by the actors (politicians) in order to keep the fans (citizens) entertained, malleable and docile.

No one in the oligarchy wants to do anything to rock the boat and disturb such a lucrative business.

The ideological members of the oligarchy clearly have a hit with their Obama Show, which is now fundamentally changing the entertainment industry in Washington, D.C. Awed by this spectacle; the pragmatist politicians (actors) are rapidly adjusting their core principles to adhere to the current trend so as not to lose their guest spots and the great reviews offered by the promoters (journalists). Actors (politicians) who criticize the Obama Show are given bad reviews and black-listed from the entertainment business (Washington, D.C.).

The arrogance of the oligarchy has only gotten more brazen since 1993, when Lewis H. Lapham (A Wish for Kings) wrote:

The politicians dress up the deals in the language of law or policy, but theyre in the business of brokering the tax revenue, and what keeps them in office is not their talent for oratory but their skill at redistributing the national income in a way that rewards their clients, patrons, friends and campaign contributors.

Driven solely by an excessive craving for personal power and profit, while remaining unconstrained by the Constitution and the rule of law and unaccountable to the American people or even common sense, the conduct of the oligarchy has become pernicious to the health of the nation.

Malfeasance is defined as the performance by a public official of an act that is legally unjustified, harmful, or contrary to law. Federal governmental malfeasance fueled by political corruption is the single, most important issue of our time.

The method by which the oligarchy maintains the corrupt status quo is by fostering a culture of political dependency and by distorting the news in an attempt to manipulate public opinion and preserve the power of the state.

The Democrats create a culture of dependency by expanding government control through limitations on personal liberty, entitlements and tribal politics.

The Republican establishment produces a culture of dependency by limiting choice, pre-selecting candidates and carefully managing primary elections to produce a pre-determined outcome. Republicans want to remain the sole alternative to the Democrats and preserve their membership in the oligarchy by cooperating to maintain the illusion of choice and democracy. The true anti-democratic face of the Republican Party is revealed whenever grass root movements like the Tea Party arise or independent thinkers speak out. They are both promptly co-opted or crushed.

There is a Cold Civil War now underway in the United States to determine who should control the federal government. It is not a contest between the nearly identical Democrat and Republican platforms, but a battle between the power of an oppressive and avaricious oligarchy and the rights and liberty of the American people.

Author Bio

Lawrence Sellin, Ph.D. is a retired colonel with 29 years of service in the US Army Reserve and a veteran of Afghanistan and Iraq. Colonel Sellin is the author of Afghanistan and the Culture of Military Leadership. He receives email at lawrence.sellin@gmail.com.

“There is a Cold Civil War now underway in the United States to determine who should control the federal government. It is not a contest between the nearly identical Democrat and Republican platforms, but a battle between the power of an oppressive and avaricious oligarchy and the rights and liberty of the American people”

Very interesting model. I remember reading the first edition of "The People's Almanac," circa mid-1970's, and it fingered "who really rules" as much different from the politicians and "system of laws under a constitution." If I recall correctly, that version didn't describe the sham in the same three-legged (three department) form, but clearly, it saw the operation of Congress as a sham.

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